The mobile SoC space has been mostly under the control of Qualcomm and MediaTek for some time now. However, if we were to go by recent reports, it looks like we might soon have a new entrant to the mobile SoC space as the Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is reportedly working on its first in-house application processor that could be scaled up as mobile SoC within a couple of years.
According to a recent report that was published by Chinese publication IT Home, Oppo owned integrated circuit designer Shanghai Zheku is actively working on its first in-house mobile application processor that might see the light of the day by the end of 2023.
Besides that the the report also claims that the new AP will be manufactured using TSMC’s 6nm process node before being integrated into a Mobile SoC complete with its own custom networking chip again using TSMC’s 4nm process. This is not entirely new and sounds very familiar to Intel’s ‘Foveros’ chipset packaging technology that combines various chiplets with different functions onto a single chip.
Meanwhile, the Chinese smartphone makers entry into the SoC space isn’t unexpected at all, as Oppo Find X5 Pro already features its in-house NPU (Neural Processing Unit) called MariSilicon X. It combines a Neural Processing Unit, ISP, and multi-tier memory architecture in a single package to greatly improve camera performance using computational photography.
That said, we don’t expect Oppo’s upcoming chips to complete with SoCs from existing players, including Qualcomm and MediTek anytime soon. However, we could likely see new chips from Oppo making its way to the market with its low-cost and budget smartphones.
Whatsoever, it would be interesting to see how Oppo manages to develop its own Mobile SoC and how it compares to SoCs from existing players.
Also Read: Oppo Reno 8 Looks Similar to OnePlus 10R in Leaked Render, Specifications Tipped
What do you think about Oppo’s decision to develop its own mobile SoCs? Will it be able to compete with existing players? Let us know in the comment section below. Until then, join us on Telegram, Facebook, or Twitter and stay up to date with the latest happenings in the tech industry.
